CIVIL society groups marking the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Wednesday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must be the last in his family to serve as president, calling for the immediate passage of an anti-political dynasty bill.
Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino Dee said political dynasties have no place in the country — particularly those from the Marcos and Duterte families.
“President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. must be the last Marcos in Malacañang, and Vice President Sara Duterte must never step into its halls. This (EDSA anniversary) is not just a rally; it is our promise to turn away from corruption, political dynasties and all the evils of both Marcos presidencies,” Dee said.
Bishop Gerry Alminaza, president of Caritas Philippines, the overall organizer of the rallies, said EDSA does not belong to any family, party or administration, but rather to the people.
“EDSA was a flood that washed away fear. Until now, the message is clear: Everyone is welcome here. EDSA does not belong to any party. It does not belong to a few generations alone. EDSA belongs to the people,” Alminaza said in Filipno.
Aside from the passage of the anti-political dynasty bill, Dee also implored the public not to vote for politicians who are repeatedly involved in corruption scandals.
“There will always be an opportunity to stop the corruption, the abuse that is happening in our society because of our democracy, because of our strength, because of our duty to be part of the solution,” Dee said.
The commemoration saw two separate protests: the Trillion Peso March Movement (TPMM) by Tindig Pilipinas, and the other by the EDSA40 coalition — which is composed of over 100 different organizations.
The one spearheaded by Tindig Pilipinas calls for holding the government accountable through reforms, while the EDSA40 Committee calls for the resignation of Marcos and Duterte.
Former Bayan Muna representative Teddy Casiño said in a Facebook post there were efforts to unite the two. However, they claimed the TPMM declined the proposal for a joint rally, citing differences in objectives.
“The concerns of some in TPMM, namely Siklab, Tindig Pilipinas and Akbayan, centered on the belief — despite repeated clarifications — that some groups in the EDSA40 Committee are allegedly pushing for unconstitutional and violent means, such as a military junta or revolutionary government. There were also some within TPMM opposing calls for the resignation, impeachment or accountability of President Marcos, arguing that these would only benefit Vice President Sara Duterte,” he said.
Police beefed up security around the People Power Monument in White Plains, Quezon City, with 14,900-strong personnel in anticipation of thousands of participants for the Trillion Peso March coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution.
During the protest action by the EDSA40 Committee, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) prevented the protesters from continuing their program at the EDSA Shrine.
NCRPO chief Gen. Anthony Aberin said the EDSA Shrine was a no-rally zone as it is a private property.
Alminaza tried to mediate the conflict by reaching out to the police, claiming that they have been in talks with them regarding the staging of the said protest since the start of Lent season.
“They are supposed to serve and protect. What the people are asking is a legitimate democratic space. The more you repress, the more you control, the more it can get out of hand,” the bishop told The Manila Times.
The commotion caused heavy traffic, which Alminaza said could have been prevented if the police allowed the protesters to continue their protest.
The protesters were eventually allowed to stage their event at EDSA Shrine.
“If the ones in power do not listen to the people — especially if it’s legitimate — I don’t know where we will go, because it should be government by the people, for the people, with the people — not against the people,” Alminaza said.
Police said the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution was generally peaceful, although their crowd estimate of 6,000 was far lower than organizers’ 20,000 head count.
Not romanticizing the past
The nongovernmental organization started by former vice president and current Naga City mayor Leni Robredo said commemorating the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 is not to romanticize the past, but to take responsibility for the present.
In a statement on Wednesday, Angat Buhay, which was started by Robredo after her presidential run in 2022, said that after 40 years, the country remembers the moment when ordinary Filipinos preferred confronting an “unjust system and [reclaiming] their future.”
“People Power was not polite, and it was not passive. It demanded courage, sacrifice and collective action in the face of real danger. It was a refusal to accept fear, lies and abuse of power as normal,” they said. “This is not a legend of the past — it is a reminder of the courage that we can stand for once again.”
“Democracy does not survive on memory alone. When inequality deepens, when truth is distorted and when power is concentrated once again in the hands of the few, commemoration must become action,” the group added.
The organization said EDSA’s memory is to guard freedom and to fight for dignity.
“EDSA demands vigilance. It demands that we protect institutions, defend freedoms and insist that [the] government exists to serve people with dignity and justice. Above all, it demands that we never return to a time when silence was safer than speaking out,” they said.
“Forty years on, the work of EDSA is unfinished. The choice it asks of us remains the same,” they added.
The August Twenty One Movement, meanwhile, called on Filipinos to keep the memory of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution alive.
In a statement, the group, involved in the protests at the time, said abuse in power should not continue.
“As we mark the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, we remember not only the historic images along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), but the values that brought us there: integrity in public office, accountability in leadership, respect for human rights, civilian supremacy over the military and the belief that sovereignty resides in the people,” the group said.
“EDSA was not about replacing one strongman with another political brand. It was about restoring institutions, strengthening democratic checks and balances, and embedding accountability into the system. It was about making sure that no one is above the law,” they added.
Remembering
is not enough
Several groups and individuals offered their recollections on the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.
For the Liberal Party (LP), the revolution, also called People Power, was only the beginning of the restoration of democracy that is strengthened through the continuous participation of citizens.
LP, in a statement on Wednesday, added that unlike before, EDSA is now a “distant memory” to some, noting that there are debates over whether it should be celebrated.
“The president’s surname is Marcos once again. And there are politicians aspiring for the highest positions in the country while carrying a brand of politics contrary to the spirit of accountability and respect for institutions,” the party said.
They also said that 40 years after the revolution, justice remained incomplete, with institutions needing to be healed and fortified.
“Remembering is not enough. Action is required,” it said.
In her speech at the EDSA People Power Monument, LP president and Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima related the story of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to her experience with former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently facing crimes against humanity charges at The Hague.
“After many years, violence returned. More blatant. More people were killed. Victims’ heads were wrapped in masking tape and discarded like trash on the streets. It didn’t matter if there was no evidence or trial. It didn’t matter if innocents were caught in the crossfire. And the saddest part: this relentless killing of the poor and defenseless was met with applause,” she said.
“But here I am today, in front of you. Meanwhile, the one who imprisoned me has so many excuses, so much beating around the bush — he cannot even face the court to hear the accusations against him. He is just like his daughter, who now dreams of becoming the president of the Philippines,” de Lima said, referring to Vice President Sara Duterte.
Duterte, meanwhile, said that the essence of EDSA 40 has already been forgotten by some people.
“That’s why those who are marching [right now], they do not know what their message is to the people. They have forgotten the message of 1986,” Duterte said in an interview in Iligan City on Monday.
Sacrifice
Demonstrators braved a scorching sun to demand accountability for bogus flood control projects believed to have cost billions of taxpayer dollars.
“Our money is being stolen [by politicians]... I want everyone involved to be jailed and punished, starting from the top,” 19-year-old high school senior Dustin Salazar said near the monument to the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“I’m not going to get tired of fighting for our country. If we want change, we must fight for it.” Wednesday’s rallies were the third major protest aimed at the flood control scandal, and the first held on a workday. They registered the lowest attendance yet, with police estimating a crowd of fewer than 6,000 across both venues in the early afternoon.
Lawrence Anthony Borja, a political science professor at Manila’s De La Salle University, said he believed the flood control issue was effectively “dead in the water.”
“Popular anger dissipated because ordinary citizens are used to disappointing outcomes, especially on matters concerning corruption,” he said.
The Philippines has a long history of scandals involving public funds, in which high-ranking politicians found guilty of corruption have typically escaped serious jail time.
But other analysts rejected the notion that small turnouts equaled apathy.
“Protest fatigue has been happening for years now... but we shouldn’t look at it as if this is going to make or break our reform agenda,” Michael Henry Yusingco, senior research fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center, said.
Wednesday’s event remained “important because it serves as an overt warning to the Ombudsman and the prosecutors that they have a duty to fulfill,” he said of criminal cases in the pipeline.
University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco agreed, saying a lack of overt public anger did “not mean they are not monitoring the cases.”
Sitting with a group of seminarians on Wednesday, Fr. Victor de Jesus, who was among the marchers 40 years ago, conceded the country’s ongoing corruption issues could be “more than a little frustrating.”
“But that’s why a revolution takes time,” the 65-year-old said, sweat dripping from his brow. “It takes a lot of work.” WITH AFP
